Neon Genesis Evangelion: New Beginnings
by Daisuke Yamasaki
Summary: After Third Impact takes place, Shinji finds himself alone with Asuka on a debris covered beach. Are they dead? Are they alive? He doesn't know... all he knows is that he is glad that he is not alone.
1. Neon Genesis Evangelion: New Beginnings

Chapter One

The sky was dark. Waves were crashing against litter and debris on the beach. That sound was the only thing that could be heard... the only thing that was heard except for the sobbing of a young man on the beach. There he was, straddling a motionless female body on the sand. He held his face in his hands and wept. He had a lot to cry about.

_What have I done? _ He thought to himself.

_What the hell happened? _

He continued to cry and weep, letting all of his confusion and emotion pour out all at once. He wished he were dead.

_No one cares! No one loves me!_ These words ran through his mind constantly.

"Asuka... help me." he sobbed, huddled down over her cold, motionless body. He was all alone now. Everyone he knew was dead. Misato, Ritsuko, even his father who he so hated. His friends Kensuke and Suzuhara... all dead. All destroyed.

_They're all dead... and I'm alive..._

_They're all dead, so how am I still alive?_

_How am I alive after all of this?_

_WHY AM I ALIVE?_

He was shouting at himself inside his mind. Shinji felt so scared... so alone. As if he were the last human being on the face of the planet... if the planet had a face. If the planet had a face, it was completely destroyed just moments before... What was actually left of the planet? The lonely beach? Maybe that was all that was left of the Planet Earth. It had to be so. Shinji couldn't hear anything else. Only the crashing waves and his own pitiful sobbing.

"Asuka... help me." he said in a soft tone. He couldn't even hear it over the sound of the waves.

"Asuka... help me." once again, this time louder. Shinji repeated himself.

"Asuka... help me." he said again, and again still, louder each time.

"ASUKA... HELP ME!" he shouted, and he clenched his head in his hands, screaming and shouting hysterically.

"Asuka, why did you leave me? Why are you dead? Oh please Asuka, help me. I need you..."

He felt as if he could do nothing more than lay with the body of the girl who loathed him... the girl who he hated... and the girl he had so admired... sexually.

"How disgusting..." a voice said. It was a quiet voice, but Shinji heard it. He knew it wasn't in his mind. He raised his head slowly, wiped the tears from his eyes, and saw a single blue eye staring up at him. The other was covered by an eye patch.

"Asuka?" he called out to her. She blinked her eye once. "You're alive?" he sniffled. He had stopped crying now... finally. She stared up at his face, wet with tears. "No one likes a crybaby male." she groaned. She was actually alive, and Shinji even smiled at her rude comment. He was glad that the bitch was alive. She was a bitch... but he had grown to care for her, even more so since this Third Impact. He wasn't alone, and for that he was glad.

"I'm so sorry, Asuka. I'm sorry I didn't help you! I'm sorry for calling you names and being mean to you all those times. I'm sorry! Please forgive me. I swear I'll never do it a-" Shinji was cut short as Asuka placed a finger over his lips. He saw her smile, and heard her say, "It's alright, Shinji. You don't have to apologize. I should be apologizing to you."

"Not at all." Shinji shook his head, and he allowed his body to collapse on top of Asuka's. For once, she didn't slap him or yell. She just held his head against her shoulder and closed her eye, and Shinji did the same. He felt comfort. For once he wasn't afraid. Someone cared for him. Someone loved him. He felt as if he were invincible now. Asuka stroked his hair gently, and the exhausted Shinji fell fast asleep in the arms of the Second Child... Asuka Langley Sohryu.

End Chapter One


	2. Neon Genesis Evangelion: New Beginnings

Chapter Two

Shortly after he fell asleep, Shinji began to dream about everything that had happened in the recent days. He saw Rei... he saw Kaworu... he saw the completed Eva series. He saw the world being destroyed. He remembered the sweet kiss Misato had shared with him. He remembered everything. He was reliving it in his dream now, and it felt so real. He felt as if his body were being torn apart. he saw Asuka's obliterated Unit 02. The sight was disturbing. Eyeballs the size of small cars lay on the ground, and large internal organs lay in large pools of blood. Asuka was dead.

"No!" Shinji shouted, as he sprung up from his spot in the sand. "Asuka!" he screamed. He clenched his eyes closed tightly, and grasped at his head. "What's wrong, Shinji?" a voice asked, "Are you okay?" Shinji's opened his eyes slowly, and sitting just in front of him he saw Asuka. It was just a dream... only a dream. "I'm...fine Asuka. It was just a bad dream. I saw your Unit 02... it was... destroyed..." he said, his voice full of sorrow and fear. "I thought you were dead."

Asuka smiled a small smile, crawled through the sand to sit next to Shinji, and she embraced him tightly. "I'm glad you were worried about me, Shinji. It's okay. I'm alive..."

Shinji cuddled against her, trying to forget the awful dream, even though the rest of it was a reality. The world was almost completely destroyed. Asuka didn't seem to mind too much. It was as if she were in shock. Shinji couldn't blame her. She had seen and been through a lot. He couldn't believe it either. Everything had been destroyed, and all of his friends were gone. All he had now was Asuka. He enjoyed the things she said to him, enjoyed being in her arms. He wasn't used to it, and as he began to wake up and calm down, it began to be kind of creepy that she was being so affectionate. He shrugged it off for the moment. "Asuka..." he said, "What are we going to do? We can't really just sit here, can we?" he asked, looking at her face. "I guess it's better that we try to find somewhere to go... and maybe we'll find someone else?" she replied, the tone in her voice full of doubt.

_Everyone else is probably dead... _ She thought, _But we can't just stay here and do nothing. We have to try to live..._

"I sure hope there are other survivors... I mean... it'll be weird with just the two of us... it just won't be the same..." Shinji sighed. Asuka gently rubbed at his back and nodded. "I know... but I am sure there are at least a few other people still alive... we won't find them by just sitting here, you know?" Asuka said. Shinji nodded to her in agreement. "Then let's go, Shinji!" she said, playfully pushing at him. He smiled, and kind of enjoyed it. That was the Asuka he was used to. Shinji managed to get up from the sand. He was hurting pretty badly. His muscles ached, and his head hurt. Asuka also rose from the beach and she grabbed onto Shinji for balance. She could barely walk. She clung to him and limped alongside. Together the two started off, heading away from the Beach of Death... away from everything. They were leaving it behind. The two of them walked on together, towards NERV Headquarters... or what was left of it.

End Chapter Two


	3. Neon Genesis Evangelion: New Beginnings

Chapter Three

Nothing but rubble. That was all that was left of NERV. The only thing around was litter, debris, and corpses of the people that Shinji had spoken to not too long ago. They'd never speak again. The hardest part for Shinji was finding Misato Katsuragi's dead body. He screamed in the most absolute horror and he embraced her cold body close to his own. He was crying again... but Asuka could feel sympathy for it. Even she shed a few tears for Misato. Shinji could hear Misato's last words in his mind.

_"Now that was a grown-up kiss."_

_"We'll do the rest when you come back."_

Shinji couldn't bear it... Misato was dead. His guardian was dead. He gently lay her body back down, caressing her cheek gently. He looked down at her for a moment more. "Rest in peace, Misato." he said sadly. There was a moment of silence, and Shinji rose to his feet once more. Asuka placed a hand on Shinji's shoulder to comfort him. "She took care of us, and now she's gone. I refuse to believe it... I can't believe it. I'd give anything just to have her back again. I wish I could take revenge for her." Shinji felt as if he were about to break down. Asuka gently rubbed his back. She knew it was rough for him. He was closer to Misato than she was. Shinji stood above Misato for a few more minutes, before he raised his head. "Come on, Asuka... we have to go." he said. He turned and walked away quickly, before he began to cry again. Asuka stuck close to him, comforting him with words as they quickly made their way through the destroyed headquarters. Shinji began to run, breaking away from Asuka. She tried so hard to keep up, but couldn't. She had never fully recovered from her injuries. Shinji collapsed just outside.

"Everyone's gone! They're all dead! All of our classmates, all of our teachers, all of our friends. Misato's gone, Father's gone, Ayanami's gone... they're all gone!" he screamed like a banshee and he pounded his fists into the ground repeatedly, until he saw bloody imprints. He finally stopped, then looked back to Asuka. "What can we do, Asuka? We're all alone! What can we do? We're not going to make it! We're not!" he shouted. "Shinji! Calm down. We can't just do nothing. We have to try to make a new life. We have to find other survivors. There has to be at least one!" she said. Shinji still shouted and screamed. He was hysterical. He was scared. "Oh Shinji, shut the hell up." Asuka yelled as she slapped Shinji across the face. He finally shut his yapping, and he just sat there, holding his cheek. "Snap out of it, Shinji. Stop acting like a spoiled little brat. Either you can sit here and die, or you can come with me. I'm not going to give up so easily." she said, and she stormed off in the area of central Tokyo 3, near the Train Station and shopping district. She was sure she'd find someone there. Shinji was quick to follow her. He didn't want to be alone. Asuka trampled onward, a smile on her face as she heard Shinji's footsteps behind her. She wanted him to come along. She didn't want to be alone either.

End Chapter Three


End file.
